User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
ylim
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: June 5, 2005

Bottom Line:

I was expecting much more from this Marantz. I got it as a loaner waiting for the Rotel RSX-1056 to arrive. It sounds a lot like my first HT reciever, the Denon 3300, but with less oomph and snap. Midband performance isn't bad but the high and low freq response is a let down in home theater modes; too much roll off at both ends. 2 channel performance is much better. I would say this Marantz performs like all the other mass market receivers in this segment. Nothing special. HT (DD, DTS) modes were stale and 2 dimensional. The presentation just seem to lack depth and I also noticed lots of detail missing. Its not a bad receiver but it just doesnt have the stuff to give you goose bumps. Maybe it just wasnt a good match for my B&Ws.

I migrated from a Denon 2830 to this unit and I definitely find this to be a more refined receiver. Despite all kinds of problems I have heard abt Marantz, I have seen consistently excellent performance from a number of their products that I have used (CC9100, SR 7400, ST 6000). The quality of construction, sound quality and looks of Marantz are real value for money and far superior to Denon.

I absolutely love it. When I was first looking to replace my previous Onkyo receiver, I was looking into the Rotel RSX-1065 and Marantz 7400. I did listen to a Denon, but I don't really like the type of sound of a Denon or HK. It's a bit too colored for me.

Compared to the Marantz I found the Rotel to sound slightly more natural, but very slightly. I heard the 7400 had heat issues, so I started leaning into the Rotel. Then I found out there was a Marantz 6400 (wasn't on their website) which the only difference is one less channel. That was fine for me as I never plan on using 7.1. I was able to fine a brand new 6400 for almost $800 less than the Rotel, so I jumped on that quick.

When I first received it, the sound was harsh and very cold with my B&Ws. It didn't sound good at all. I throw in a Linkin Park CD for a day to burn in the setup. After that, I still didn't listen to music. Just watched tv and movies. After a week I sat down and listened to my CDs again. This was the sound I was waiting for! It was very warm and natural sounding... just the way it sounded in the shops. My B&Ws sound so much better now. Bigger sound stage, details are more distinctive, and the bass is richer. I think I have listened to my Rhasody In Blue more in the past few months than ever in my life combined. I love the sound.

Now the video is another thing. It's a little strange. One, I couldn't get the video to upvert to component as it's suppose to. But also, with my DVDs, the menus looked funny using the component connection. It would get grainy. The RCA connections was blurry, and this also occurred with my PS2. Finally after messing around, I found that the s-video did the best job. Clean and crisp image. I know that component video has more bandwidth, but if you want to use it, bypass the Marantz component connections. For RCA, if you go through the Marantz, then you'll get a bit of blurriness. Like I said, S-video was the only one that gave me a very clean and transparent signal.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this for anyone in the market for a Rotel to give this Marantz a try. The equipment remains cool at all times, and the sound is smooth and natural sounding.